Endless Path Zendo | Roshi Rafe Martin
Endless Path Zendo is a lay Zen Buddhist community dedicated to realizing the Buddha Way in everyday life. The podcast features teachings from Roshi Rafe Martin, a Zen teacher with decades of practice and Dharma Transmission. Episodes explore Zen creativity, the Way of the Bodhisattva, and integrating spiritual practice into ordinary life.
Episodes
Fugen, Tree Bodhisattvas, Creativity and Zen
Recorded on August 8, 2026.This teisho is a potpourri made up of 3 shorter sections from "A Zen Life of Bodhisattvas" — namely a folktale of Fugen Bosatsu, a jataka tale of the Buddha in a past life when he was the consciousness of a tree, and a short piece on Zen, Creativity, and imagination all read aloud and commented on by their author, Roshi Rafe Jnan Martin. Tree painting by Rafe M
The Buddha Makes a Mistake
Recorded 08/01/2026.What does it mean to be human? Does the form of having two feet, legs, eyes, and ears, a nose, brain, and heart sum it up? If so there are billions of us. But if by “human” we mean someone wise and compassionate, not driven by greed, anger, ignorance, or fear; someone who can be counted on when the going gets rough, then that number may be rather small. What does it take to be
A Dream Within A Dream
Recorded July 25, 2026.Case no. 25, Gateless Barrier: “Yang-shan’s Sermon From the Third Seat” is as follows:Yang-shan dreamed he went to Maitreya’s realm and was led to the third seat. A senior monk struck the stand with a gavel and announced, “Today the monk in the third seat will preach.”Yang-shan rose, struck the stand with the gavel, and said, “The Dharma of the Mahayana is beyond the Four Pr
Bodhisattva of Great Compassion
Recorded on July 11, 2026.Asked to write something about the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion, Hakuin penned: “Even if the rivers and seas all receded and became dry land,/ Her vow to save all sentient beings still would never cease.” In other words even if the world turns upside down and seas become mountains and mountains seas, (which has actually happened), even if what is beyond imagining occur
The Zen Buddhist Precepts and Living Our Zen
Recorded June 6, 2026.In preparation for the Jukai (receiving the precepts) on 6/20/2026, before leaving for the American Zen Teachers Association gathering, Roshi Martin read and commented on Aitken Roshi’s opening chapter of “The Mind of Clover: Essays in Zen Buddhist Ethics” — “The Nature of the Precepts.” Here’s that teisho, as presented at Endless Path Zendo on 6/06/2026. Books -- "The M
Manjusri Fails!
Recorded 5/30/2026.Wu-men’s commentary to Case 42 of The Gateless Barrier, “Manjusri and the Young Woman in Samadhi” says“The comedy Old Shakya puts on the stage here is a great hodgepodge. Just tell me now; Manjusri is the teacher of the Seven Buddhas – why couldn’t he get the young woman out of her samadhi, when the Bodhisattva of Delusive Wisdom, a beginner, could? If you can firmly grasp this
Meeting Manjusri Bodhisattva of Wisdom Face-to Face
Recorded May 16, 2026.Roshi Rafe Martin reads and comments on Chapter 3 of "A Zen Life of Bodhisattvas." “Manjushri’s Threes by Threes” — Case # 35 of the Blue Cliff Record — Manjusri asked Wu Cho, “Where have you just come from?”Wu Cho replied, “The south.”Manjusri said, “ How is southern Buddhism faring?”Wu Cho answered, “The monks of the latter days of the Law have little regard for t
Manjusri -- Bodhisattva of Wisdom
Recorded May 9, 2026.Roshi Rafe Martin reads and comments on Chapter 2 of "A Zen Life of Bodhisattvas." In Japan, the Buddha sits in the Buddha Hall, but Manjusri, Bodhisattva of Wisdom, presides over the zendo where he’s often shown seated on a noble and courageous lion -- symbol of our own enlightened Original Nature. Holding a scroll of prajna wisdom or a lotus in one hand and a sword
Actualizing Our Gestural Imagination: Telling Stories that Live!
Recorded May 7, 2026Actualizing Our Gestural Imagination: Telling Stories that Live! A teaching session withaward-winning author and storyteller, Rafe Martin 5/7/2026Boulder Valley Spell Binders of Boulder, CO.Photo of Rafe Martin, storytelling 1984 -- by Lawson Sachter.Books by Roshi Rafe MartinTalks on YouTubeMore information at endlesspathzen.org
Roshi Philip Kapleau Memorial
Recorded May 2, 2026.Twenty-two years ago on March 6th , (it has gone by in the blink of an eye) 2004 my old Zen teacher, Roshi Philip Kapleau ,passed from this life to the next. I had just flown back home to Rochester from where I'd been speaking at a literary conference in Reno, Nevada and was picked up at the airport by an old Dharma friend who told me that Roshi had just died. We drove to
Are Bodhisattvas Real?
Recorded April 25, 2026.In this first series of teishos from his book, “A Zen Life of Bodhisattvas,” Roshi Martin explores the nature of Bodhisattvas — the “wisdom beings” so central to the wise and compassionate vision of Mahayana Buddhism, which includes Zen. He also makes it clear that, in Zen tradition, to know who or what bodhisattvas are, we need to know who or what we ourselves truly are. T
Impossible Situations: A Buffalo Passes Through the Window
Recorded April 18, 2026.Today’s teisho is on "Gateless Barrier" Case 38 — “A Buffalo Passes Through the Window.”Wu-tsu said, “It is like a buffalo that passes through a window. Its head, horns, and four legs all pass through. Why can’t its tail pass through as well?”Hakuin comments:"Hard for even the most clear-sighted Zen monks to crack,A Buffalo Passing Through theWindow trips the
Finding Your Buddha Smile (Final Chapter) - Part 11: A Springtime Stroll
Recorded April 11, 2026Hooray! Spring has come. Ice cracks and melts and rivers once again run free. Green grass and buds on trees magically appear. Blue Cliff Record case 36 presents it like this:One day Ch’ang-sha went for a walk in the hills. When he returned to the gate of the monastery the head monk said, “Master, where have you been?”Ch’ang-sha said, “I have come from strolling about in the
The Birth of The Buddha -- What's it all about?
Recorded April 4, 2026.What does the birth of a Buddha really mean? What bearing does it have on our own lives? Is it just ancient history? Is it simply literal — or what? Plus, what are we to make of the rather astonishing legend that, at birth, the newborn baby Buddha raised one hand toward the heavens and pointed the other down to the earth and proclaimed “Above the Heavens, below the heavens,
Finding Your Buddha Smile- Part 10: Beautiful Snowflakes!
Recorded 3/28/2026.The greatest journeys find completion in ordinary things. The teacup, the comfortable old slippers, the wool jacket on the hook by the door. To quote Dorothy, there’s no place like home, where we’re so at ease, a glance at a morning star, a late-night chat with a friend, or a walk in the snow can open ... the Timeless. So — Blue Cliff Record case 42, “Layman P’ang’s Beautiful Sn
Finding Your Buddha Smile - Part 9: What is the True Me?
Recorded March 21, 2026.Zen master Wu-tsu used a popular ghost tale, like a popular movie or novel of his time, to explore the intimate question of Identity: “Who am I?” We move through our days like leaves blown about by an un-known wind. But who is it happening to? Who is doing it? Who is the victim? Who’s in the driver’s seat? Shouldn’t we know? What could be more essential—or practical—than be
Finding Your Buddha Smile - Part 8: How Do I Find Peace of Mind?
Recorded March 7, 2026.This teisho opens with a brief recounting of the legend of the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion and issues of failure, despair, and compassion in our own times. Then Roshi Martin moves on to the essence of Zen — realizing peace of mind. In the koan of “Bodhidharma and Peace of Mind,” (Gateless Barrier #41) Hui-k’o, climbs up to Bodhidharma’s cave on the mountain seeking peace
Finding Your Buddha Smile - Part 7: The Highest Teaching is the Oak Tree in my Front Garden?
Recorded February 28, 2026Wisdom, which helps us make reasonably good life choices, enabling us to live reasonably good lives, can’t be secret or esoteric. It must reside in what is common and ordinary; otherwise, what hope would any of us have of living well? It would be beyond us— special, hidden away, reserved for the few. No. The last word can’t be far off. And, indeed, Zen teachers in ancient
Finding Your Buddha Smile - Part 6: Te-shan Carries His Lunch Bowls: The Last Word
Recorded February 21, 2026 When you realize the first word You understand the last word; The first word or the last word— “It” is not a word.If it’s not a word, what is it? If it is a word, how might you say it?Sequenced in their proper chronological order, the three Te-shan koans give us a nutshell view of Zen as a journey from brash immaturity to subtle maturity. But what is matu
The Buddha’s Parinirvana: Teisho by Roshi Rafe Martin
Recorded February 14, 2026.William Blake once signed a guest book with a drawing of a human figure stretched reclining — or flying. Surrounding it were the words, “William Blake who is very much delighted in being in good company. Born 28 Nov. 1757 in London and has died several times since.” Zen Master Hakuin, in Japan in 1749, wrote as a way honoring a student who had recently died: “Turning my
Finding Your Buddha Smile - Part 5: Te-shan Carries His Bundle
Recorded February 7, 2025.Te-shan, a noted scholar of the Diamond Sutra, set out to wipe out those nasty “Zen devils” in the South. But, falling into Master Lung-t’an’s Dragon Pond, he found his Face before his parents were born and out at last beyond the pages of his beloved notes and commentaries on the diamonds Sutra, he awoke to the real diamond. Filled with joy, he burned his precious writing
Finding Your Buddha Smile - Part 4: Te-shan Carries His Backpack
Recorded January 24, 2026.In this teisho, we move on from the Buddha himself, to see how Zen tradition views the ordinary person’s journey from ignorance to maturity. To show this, Roshi Martin arranges three koans, each drawn from the life of the Chinese Zen master, Te-shan (J. Tokusan, 780–865), in their chronological order—which is not how we find them in our actual koan curriculum. In actual p
Finding Your Buddha Smile - Part 3: The World Honored One Ascends the Teaching Seat
Recorded January 17, 2026.In this teisho Roshi Martin reads and comments on Chapter 2 of his latest book, “Finding Your Buddha Smile: Coming Home (To What Zen is Really All About).”The legendary-mythic jataka tales, reveal the Buddha’s past life efforts, challenges, triumphs, and mistakes. Let’s look at him now as the fully “Awakened One,” the finished product of that many lifetime effort, and see
Finding Your Buddha Smile - Part 2: The Buddha Shows the Path
Teisho by Roshi Rafe Jnan Martin Endless Path Zendo, 01/10/2026This teisho opens with a brief talk on the terrible dangers of our present time and the challenging, profoundly helpful path that Zen offers — not of philosophizing, but of tending an ox. Roshi Martin then resumes reading and commenting from his latest book —“Finding Your Buddha Smile: Coming Home (To What Zen is Really All About).” In
Finding Your Buddha Smile - Part 1: Introduction
Recorded January 3, 2026.Roshi Martin reads the Opening, Thanks, and Introduction of his new book -- "Finding Your Buddha Smile: Coming Home (to What Zen is Really All About)."From the Intro: There are lots of ways to be happy, some selfish, some naive, some fleeting, some more lasting. The kind I have in mind is of the more lasting sort, the kind that can only come after troubles, after
On the Precepts (in preparation for New Year's Eve Jukai)
Recorded 12/20/2025.Roshi Martin reads Chapter 10 of Aitken Roshi's "Taking the Path of Zen" -- "The Ten Grave Precepts" and comments in preparation for Jukai. Jukai is a way of taking our practice seriously, of saying — of vowing that “It’s not simply what I do in the zendo or dokusan room that matters – it’s what I do in and how I live my actual daily life.” We take Juka
The Buddha's Great Enlightenment
Recorded December 6, 2025.December 8th is the traditional date on the Mahayana (Zen Buddhist) calendar of the Buddha's profound Enlightenment. Sitting beneath the Bodhi Tree after a long night of zazen that capped 6 years of ferocious effort, the previously sheltered ex-prince, Siddhartha Gautama, so deeply troubled by his head-on collision with impermanence, the sheer injustice of it -- fina
Old Ghosts and Living a Life of Grace -- teisho on the Fox Koan
Recorded October 25, 2025.Thoughts, actions, understandings, perceptions, realizations that had once seemed good enough, may in time, no longer be sufficient. We outgrow them. Then ghostlike, they can return and haunt us. But maybe they return, not to block our way, but to give us another chance. If so, their appearance may not be reason for disappointment, but our opportunity to mature further. S
No Kings, Vows -- Zen and the U.S.A. -- and the conclusion to Hanshan's Autobiography
Recorded October 18, 2025Roshi Martin opens with comments on No Kings and its relationship to our vows. Then, in this 9th and final teisho on the life of Ming Dynasty Zen Teacher Hanshan, Roshi Martin resumes reading and commenting on Hanshan's autobiography which takes us to Hanshan's death in 1623.Referenced: The Autobiography and Maxims of Master Han Shan, translated by Upasaka Richa
2025 Jataka Sesshin: The Monkey King
Recorded October 14, 2025.This teisho was given by Roshi Martin on the fourth day of the 15th annual Jataka Sesshin held at the Vermont Zen Center.______________________________The Monkey King jataka is also explored in Endless Path: Awakening Within the Buddhist Imagination: Jataka Tales, Zen Practice, and DailyLife by Rafe MartinBooks by Roshi Rafe MartinTalks on YouTubeMore information at endle
2025 Jataka Sesshin: The Tigress
Recorded October 13, 2025.This teisho was given by Roshi Martin on the third day of the 15th annual Jataka Sesshin held at the Vermont Zen Center._______The Tigress jataka is also explored in Endless Path: Awakening Within the Buddhist Imagination: Jataka Tales, Zen Practice, and DailyLife by Rafe Martin. Additionally, it appears in The Hungry Tigress: Buddhist Myths, Legends and Jataka Tales (Co
2025 Jataka Sesshin: Give It All You've Got
Recorded October 12, 2025.This teisho was given by Roshi Martin on the second day of the 15th annual Jataka Sesshin held at the Vermont Zen Center.__________________________The jataka, Give It All You've Got, is also explored in Endless Path: Awakening Within the Buddhist Imagination: Jataka Tales, Zen Practice, and DailyLife by Rafe Martin.Books by Roshi Rafe MartinTalks on YouTubeMore infor
2025 Jataka Sesshin: The Black Hound Jataka
Recorded October 11, 2025This teisho was given by Roshi Martin on the first day of the 15th annual Jataka Sesshin held at the Vermont Zen Center._______The Black Hound jataka is also explored in Endless Path: Awakening Within the Buddhist Imagination: Jataka Tales, Zen Practice, and DailyLife by Rafe MartinBooks by Roshi Rafe MartinTalks on YouTubeMore information at endlesspathzen.org
Bodhidharma Day and The Oak Tree in the Front Garden
Recorded October 4, 2025.In honor of Bodhidharma, the founder of what we now call Zen Buddhism, Roshi Martin comments on the koan of the "Oak Tree in the Front Garden" and talks about a conversation with Robert Aitken Roshi and the relationship of Zen practice to actual happiness.More on this koan will be found in Roshi Martin's upcoming book " Finding your Buddha Smile: Coming
Part 8 - The Autobiography of Zen Master Hanshan - Starting with his 70th Year!
Recorded September 27, 2025.In this 8th teisho on the life of Ming Dynasty Zen Teacher Hanshan, Roshi Martin opens with a brief talk on the essence of Zen practice and the mystery at the core of our own lives. He then takes up reading and commenting on Hanshan's autobiography as it unfolds into his 70th year.Referenced: The Autobiography and Maxims of Master Han Shan, translated by Upasaka Ri
Part 7 - The Autobiography of Zen Master Hanshan
Recorded Saturday, September 6, 2025.Roshi Martin reads and comments on the extraordinary (lively, funny and moving) autobiography of Hanshan Te-Ching, ( Crazy Mountain, Virtuous Clarity", c. 1546–1623), the noted Ming Dynasty Zen teacher (not to be confused with Han-shan — Cold Mountain — noted Zen poet/eccentric of the T’ang era.) Known as one of the four great masters of the Wanli Era Ming
Part 6 - The Autobiography of Zen Master Hanshan
Recorded Sunday July 26, 2025Roshi Martin reads and comments on the extraordinary (lively, funny and moving) autobiography of Hanshan Te-Ching, ( Crazy Mountain, Virtuous Clarity", c. 1546–1623), the noted Ming Dynasty Zen teacher (not to be confused with Han-shan — Cold Mountain — noted Zen poet/eccentric of the T’ang era.) Known as one of the four great masters of the Wanli Era Ming Dynasty
Part 5 - The Autobiography of Zen Master Hanshan
Recorded June 28, 2025.Roshi Martin reads and comments on the extraordinary (lively, funny and moving) autobiography of Hanshan Te-Ching, ( Crazy Mountain, Virtuous Clarity", c. 1546–1623), the noted Ming Dynasty Zen teacher (not to be confused with Han-shan — Cold Mountain — noted Zen poet/eccentric of the T’ang era.) Known as one of the four great masters of the Wanli Era Ming Dynasty, Hans
Part 4 - The Autobiography of Zen Master Hanshan
Recorded June 15, 2025. Roshi Martin continues to read and comment on the extraordinary (and quite lively and funny and also truly moving!!) autobiography of Han-shan Te-Ching, a great Ming Dynasty teacher (not to be confused with Hanshan (Cold Mountain) poet of the T’ang era. Hanshan, an important Ming Dynasty Zen teacher, writes in such a lively, straightforward manner that is moving, funny, pro
Part 3 - The Autobiography of Zen Master Hanshan
Recorded June 14, 2025.Roshi Martin reads and comments on the extraordinary (and quite lively and funny and also truly moving!!) autobiography of Hanshan Te-Ching, a great Ming Dynasty teacher (not to be confused with Hanshan (Cold Mountain) poet of the T’ang era. Some snippet’s from Wikipedia on Hanshan:Hanshan Deqing (Hanshan Te-Ch’ing, "Crazy Mountain, Virtuous Clarity", c. 1546–1623)
Part 2 - The Autobiography of Zen Master Hanshan
Recorded June 13, 2025.Roshi Martin reads and comments on the extraordinary (and quite lively and funny and also truly moving!!) autobiography of Hanshan Te-Ching, a great Ming Dynasty teacher (not to be confused with Hanshan (Cold Mountain) poet of the T’ang era. Some snippet’s from Wikipedia on Hanshan:Hanshan Deqing (Hanshan Te-Ch’ing, "Crazy Mountain, Virtuous Clarity", c. 1546–1623)
Part 1 - The Autobiography of Zen Master Hanshan
Recorded June 12, 2025Roshi Martin reads and comments on the extraordinary (and quite lively and funny and also truly moving!!) autobiography of Hanshan Te-Ching, a great Ming Dynasty teacher (not to be confused with Hanshan (Cold Mountain) poet of the T’ang era. Some snippet’s from Wikipedia on Hanshan:Hanshan Deqing (Hanshan Te-Ch’ing, "Crazy Mountain, Virtuous Clarity", c. 1546–1623),
Who am I?
Recorded June 7, 2025.There are no monks, nuns, Zen teachers, students, Buddhas, or Bodhisattvas in the case, no sign of Buddhism at all. Instead, a father insists that his daughter marry the man he chooses and, naturally enough, she rebels in order to follow the promptings of her own heart. But this all-too-sadly familiar mess, which tears the young woman in two, quickly opens into something even
Zen and Social Responsibility
Recorded May 31, 2025Roshi Martin reads and comment on the chapter “Responsibility and Social Action” in the book Awakening to Zen by Roshi Philip Kapleau, a book he edited. The chapter opens with: “In Zen Buddhism, responsibility means responsiveness. To respond fully to every situation that comes your way, from a call for help of one kind or another to just talking with someone, and to give all
Peace of Mind?
May 17, 2025.Trouble in mind is a rather standard blues trope, but peace of mind — what is that? We know that the big bad wolf comes to every door — and blows the house down. Well, almost every house. What is the secret of that last little pig’s house, the one made of brick? What is about that house that offers security, solidity, true peace of mind? Does it lie in the literal heft of brick, or is
Philip Kapleau and The History of Zen in the West
Recorded on May 10, 2025.Rick McDaniel, who has written a fine series of books on the transmission of Zen Buddhism to the West, as well as books of interviews with contemporary Zen teachers (full disclosure: I wrote the Foreword for his "Further Conversations: On the scope, practice, and future of North American Zen," a book in which I also appear), and is now working on a book about the
The Buddha Is Caught by Desire! Mistakes are Us!
Recorded April 26, 2025In this teisho, Roshi Martin looks at an oddly sci-fi (with UFO!) past life tale of the Buddha, our own life, a Grimm’s “fairy tale,” and the Way of the Bodhisattva. “Everything – beings, worlds, galaxies, universes — Buddhist teachings tell us — come and go, with neither beginning nor end. Aryasura, author of the influential 5th century CE Jatakamala, however, states that s
What is the Dharma King's Dharma?
Recorded 4/19/2025Setting out on literal pilgrimage can help us establish faith in the Buddha Way, which began 2,500 years ago when the Awakened Buddha Shakyamuni stood up from his Great Awakening beneath the Bodhi Tree, and set off along the duty roads of his native land to teach. Pilgrimage to the sites of the historic Buddha’s life has been a traditional practice ever since. But while Zen teach
The Birth of the Buddha -- Or -- How Does A Buddha Get Born?
Recorded 04/12/2025."The legend of the Buddha’s birth, uses the language of myth to point beyond the literal. The birth of any child is totally ordinary and, at the same time, a total miracle. How do two cells become a living person? How do gastrula and blastula become a being with talents, interests, features and personality? Where does a child come from? The birth of any one child is a myst
Which is the True You?
Recorded March 8, 2025This teisho is on Case 35, The Gateless Barrier -- "Wu-tsu: Which is the True Ch'ien?""Wu-tsu asked a monk, 'The woman Ch’ien and her spirit separated. Which is the true Ch’ien?' ”Zen master Wu-tsu uses a popular ghost tale of his time to explore something truly intimate. He is facing directly into the question of Identity: Who am I? Isn’t this a
Interview with Rafe Martin, courtesy of Simplicity Zen
We’re happy to add this excellent interview with Roshi Rafe Martin to our podcast series. The interview was conducted by Berry Crawford of “Simplicity Zen” on January 27, 2023. While informal and enjoyable it is also informative, focusing on the essence of Roshi Martin’s teaching as well as his background as a lay Zen practitioner, and his emphasis, as a teacher, on the importance of lay practice.
Oak Tree in the Front Garden
Recorded March 1, 2025If wisdom is real, it should be popping up all over — in life, in folklore, in songs and movies emerging from popular culture. Real wisdom should be common knowledge, not hidden, or secret, or esoteric. “You’ll find your happiness lies right under your eyes/Back in your own backyard” sounds such a chord. And to quote Dorothy, “There’s no place like home.” Still, why do such f
Te-shan Carries his Lunch Bowls
Recorded February 22, 2025This third and final Te-shan koan completes our overview of Zen practice as the hero/heroine’s journey/pilgrimage from unconscious self-centeredness to selfless wisdom and compassion. Maturing means more than aging. Becoming not just “olders” but “elders,” takes conscious effort and perseverance. Yamada Roshi counseled his Zen students to take care of their health so as t
The Buddha's Parinirvana -- and Us!
Recorded February 15, 2025.“Let’s be honest: Death is our greatest difficulty. Accepting it and, for lack of a better word, doing it, are our most severe challenges, fraught with deepest anxiety and trauma. All challenges and difficulties in life seem to stem from or circle around this primal one of awesome finality. To face head-on what, as Shakespeare wrote, “... ends this strange eventful histo
Te-shan Carries His Bundle. Is he right -- or wrong?
Recorded Saturday, February 8, 2025.In our previous koan teisho, (case 28, "Gateless Barrier"), Te-shan, that noted scholar of the Diamond Sutra, had set off with the clear intention of wiping out the “Zen devils” in the South. Fortunately for him -- and for us -- he fell into Master Lung-t’an’s Dragon Pond where he found his Original Face from before his parents were even born.Even so
A brief pre-teisho encouragement for practicing -- and living -- in our troubling times.
Recorded Saturday, February 8, 2025.Image: Painting of Vimalakirti by Zen Master HakuinBooks by Roshi Rafe MartinTalks on YouTubeMore information at endlesspathzen.org
Te-shan Sets Down His Backpack - Case 28, Gateless Barrier.
Recorded February 1, 2025.The traditional commentary on Case 28 in the Gateless Barrier says: Before Te-shan left home, his mind was indignant and his tongue sharp. Full of arrogance, he went south to exterminate the doctrine of the special transmission outside the sutras. When he reached the road to Li-cho he sought to buy refreshments from an old woman at a roadside tea stand. The old woman sai
What's Zen Really All About?
Recorded January 25, 2025.This teisho is the first of a series from a new book by Roshi Rafe Martin, titled, "A Zen Life As Pilgrimage: Coming Home (To What Zen Is Really All About)."What is the relevance of Zen to the difficulties of our time, right now? What is Zen really all about? A personal anecdote from Roshi Martin — I was having lunch with Aitken Roshi in an Italian restaurant in
The Baby's Practice!
Recorded January 18, 2025.Fundamentally, Zen is not about becoming some better you. You are it, just as you are. Even a baby knows it. Maybe only a baby knows it. Perhaps the clearest take on this, koan-wise, is Blue Cliff Record 80 — “Chao Chou’s(Joshu’s) A Newborn Baby.” “A monk asked Chao Chou (Joshu), ‘Does a newborn baby possess the 6th sense or not?’ Chao Chou (Joshu) said, 'It is like
Liking Jataka Tales: A Teisho for Entering 2025
Recorded January 4, 2025For the first teisho of 2025 — and its challenges — Roshi Rafe Martin offers a vision of Buddhist insight/outlook and behavior, by looking at the Buddhist jataka tales (past life stories of the Buddha) and their deep import for us today. In these stories equal attention is given to the needs and aspirations of all living things, not just human beings. The tales, taken as a
The Buddha Holds Up a Flower
Recorded December 14, 2024.To end the year - a teisho on the Buddha’s teaching — and a flower!It should come as no surprise that Zen tradition sees the Buddha as the original Zen Master, someone who teaches by demonstrating and presenting, rather than simply by lecturing, or talking “about.” The Buddha offers living truth, not philosophy. Like the monk in the final Zen Oxherding picture, he enters
The Buddha's Enlightenment and Our Own Zen Practice
Recorded December 8, 2024In this teisho Roshi Rafe Martin tells the dramatic story of the Buddha’s great enlightenment then comments on it (using his recent book A Zen Life of Buddha as his source), from the ground of ongoing Zen practice: “Zen Buddhism reveres the story of the Buddha’s enlightenment because it so dramatically reveals our own potential, even as it reveals the determined, dedicated
The Buddha Leaves Home, (and how this relates to our own Zen practice!)
Record December 7, 2024This teisho, the opening teisho of our two-day rohatsu sesshin, itself the culminating event of five previous days of heightened daily practice, is on the Buddha’s leaving home and its relation to our own maturing Zen practice. According to legend, when at the age of twenty-nine, the long-sheltered prince, Siddhartha Gautama, left his comfortable palace to explore life in
Realization, Gratitude, Thanksgiving and Healing
Recorded November 23, 2024In this teisho, using Dharma Transmission case 30 in the “Transmission of Light,” Bodhidharma’s heir, Huike, to Seng t’san, (the author of “Affirming Faith in Mind”) as a case in point, Roshi Martin explores gratitude and thanksgiving — from a Zen perspective. Seng t’san, suffering from a serious illness, realized the empty ground of his disease, the foundation of what th
Manjusri Fails to Awaken the Young Woman. Is failure "wonderful indeed"?
Recorded November 16, 2024.With this teisho Roshi Martin looks into the nature of painful failure: “Is it wonderful indeed” as the koan of “Manjusri and the Young Woman” (“Gateless Barrier” 35) proclaims? If so, how? Roshi Martin begins with the opening lines of "The Odyssey” pointing out how they reveal that it is Odysseus’s failure that sets the epic of a man overcoming difficulties and tem
Shame!
Recorded November 9, 2024.In this first post-Nov. 5th election teisho, Roshi Martin opens with two poems of W.B. Yeats, speaking from the Irish “Troubles,” then moves on to read from and comment on Chapter Seven —“The Resource of Shame” — in Nelson Foster Roshi’s new book: Storehouse of Treasures: Recovering the riches of Chan and Zen. Some bits to savor:The great T’ang era Zen master Chao-chou (J
Halloween 2024 -- The Fox Koan and Putting Old Ghosts to Rest
Recorded October 26, 2024.Roshi Rafe Martin examines the important koan of Pai-chang and the Fox (case 2 of the Gateless Barrier), in light of both Halloween and the ghostly anxieties of our pre-election week. Referenced:The Gateless Barrier: The Wu-Men Kuan (Mumonkan), Translated and with a Commentary by Robert Aitken Photo : Hungry Ghost Altar, Endless Path Zendo 10/2024, by Rose MartinBooks by
Trying to Satisfy Desire. The Mandhata Jataka.
Teisho by Roshi Rafe Jnan Martin, 10/15/2024 Vermont Zen CenterRecorded October 15, 2024. In this teisho, the final teisho of the October 2024 Jataka Sesshin at the Vermont Zen Center, Roshi Martin tells an ancient jataka (past life tale of the Buddha) that's very much like a sci-fi story! He then examines it from the perspective of Zen practice. In the story, which the Buddha told near the t
The Banyan Deer -- a teisho on non-duality and justice
Recorded on October 12, 2024This teisho was presented by Roshi Martin on the first day of the recent, Oct. 11-16th 2024, 16th Annual Jataka sesshin at the Vermont Zen Center. In it, Roshi Martin first puts on his hat as an award-winning author and storyteller, giving a dramatic reading of his book, The Banyan Deer: A Parable of Wisdom and Courage (Wisdom Publications, 2010). Then, putting his Zen
Bodhidharma and Peace of Mind
Recorded 10/05/2024.Roshi Martin comments on case 41 in The Gateless Barrier — “Bodhidharma and Peace of Mind,” the core of which is as follows:Bodhidharma sat facing the wall. Huike, the Second Ancestor . . . said, “Your disciple’s mind has no peace as yet. I beg you, master, to please put it to rest.”Bodhidharma said, “Bring me your mind, and I will put it to rest.” The Second Ancestor said, “I
Zen History -- D.T. Suzuki and the Transmission of Zen to the West
Recorded September 21, 2024.Roshi Martin reads from (and comments on) "A Zen Life: D.T. Suzuki Remembered" focusing on the important, indeed, seminal role Dr. D.T. Suzuki (NOT Shunryu Suzuki) played in the transmission of Zen to the West. In his reading aloud from the book he focuses on the chapters written by his own teachers -- Philip Kapleau and Robert Aitken -- as well as the chapter
Great Compassion
Recorded September 7, 2024Roshi Rafe Martin speaks about the deep meaning of the 11-headed, many-armed Bodhisattva of Great Compassion and his/her relevance to our own lives and times right now.Referenced:"The Record of Lin-chi" Ruth Fuller Sasaki (translation and commentary)"A Zen Life of Bodhisattvas" by Rafe Jnan MartinBooks by Roshi Rafe MartinTalks on YouTubeMore informati
Part 9 - Tangen Roshi and "Throw Yourself Into the House of Buddha"
Recorded July 27, 2024.In this teisho, Roshi Martin concludes his reading from "Throw Yourself into the House of Buddha" and offers his comments on the stirring autobiography and inspiring teachings of Tangen Roshi. Tangen Harada Roshi, (the monk, Tangen-san, in "The Three Pillars of Zen") was an extraordinary human being and extraordinary Zen teacher, one with particularly clo
Part 8 - Tangen Roshi and "Throw Yourself Into the House of Buddha"
Recorded July 20, 2024.In this teisho, Roshi Martin continues reading from "Throw Yourself into the House of Buddha" and comments on the stirring autobiography and inspiring teachings of Tangen Roshi. Tangen Harada Roshi, (the monk, Tangen-san, in "The Three Pillars of Zen") was an extraordinary human being and extraordinary Zen teacher, one with particularly close ties to the
Part 7 - Tangen Roshi and "Throw Yourself Into the House of Buddha"
Recorded July 13, 2024.In this teisho, Roshi Martin continues reading from "Throw Yourself into the House of Buddha" and comments on the stirring autobiography and inspiring teachings of Tangen Roshi. Tangen Harada Roshi, (the monk, Tangen-san, in "The Three Pillars of Zen") was an extraordinary human being and extraordinary Zen teacher, one with particularly close ties to the
Part 6 - Tangen Roshi and "Throw Yourself Into the House of Buddha"
Recorded June 29, 2024.In this sixth teisho, Roshi Martin continues reading from "Throw Yourself into the House of Buddha" and comments on the stirring autobiography and inspiring teachings of Tangen Roshi. Tangen Harada Roshi, (the monk, Tangen-san, in "The Three Pillars of Zen") was an extraordinary human being and extraordinary Zen teacher, one with particularly close ties t
Part 5 - Tangen Roshi and "Throw Yourself Into the House of Buddha"
Recorded June 22, 2024.In this fifth teisho, Roshi Martin continues reading from "Throw Yourself into the House of Buddha" and comments on the stirring autobiography and inspiring teachings of Tangen Roshi. Tangen Harada Roshi, (the monk, Tangen-san, in "The Three Pillars of Zen") was an extraordinary human being and extraordinary Zen teacher, one with particularly close ties t
Part 4 - Tangen Roshi and "Throw Yourself Into the House of Buddha"
Recorded June 16, 2024.In this fourth teisho recorded at the June 4-day sesshin (June 12-16, 2024) at Endless Path Zendo, Roshi Martin reads from "Throw Yourself into the House of Buddha" and comments on the stirring autobiography and inspiring teachings of Tangen Roshi. Tangen Harada Roshi, (the monk, Tangen-san, in "The Three Pillars of Zen") was an extraordinary human being
Part 3 - Tangen Roshi and "Throw Yourself Into the House of Buddha"
Recorded June 15, 2024.In this third teisho recorded at the June 4-day sesshin (June 12-16, 2024) at Endless Path Zendo, Roshi Martin reads from "Throw Yourself into the House of Buddha" and comments on the stirring autobiography and inspiring teachings of Tangen Roshi of Bukkoji.Tangen Harada Roshi, (the monk, Tangen-san, in "The Three Pillars of Zen") was an extraordinary hum
Part 2 - Tangen Roshi and "Throw Yourself Into the House of Buddha"
Recorded June 14 2024. In this second of the four teishos recorded at Endless Path Zendo's June 2024 four-day sesshin (June 12-16th), Roshi Martin continues to read from and comment on “Throw Yourself into the House of Buddha" the stirring autobiography and profoundly inspiring teachings of Tangen Harada Roshi of Bukkoji. Tangen Harada Roshi, (the monk, Tangen-san, in "The Three Pi
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